Venezuela: landmarks, animals & facts for kids

Venezuela is a country on the northern coast of South America, facing the Caribbean Sea. It borders Colombia, Brazil and Guyana. The capital, Caracas, lies in a valley close to the sea, below the green mountains of El Ávila. Venezuela has some of the world's largest oil reserves, found mostly in the Orinoco Belt.

Venezuela is famous for Angel Falls, the highest waterfall in the world, flat-topped mountains called tepuis, huge grassy plains and Caribbean beaches. On the globe you can find Angel Falls, along with capybaras, green anacondas, scarlet ibises and the Goliath birdeater, plus the Catatumbo lightning over Lake Maracaibo.

Geography and nature

Venezuela has four main kinds of land. The Andes reach the north-west, where Pico Bolívar, about 4,978 metres, is the highest peak. The Llanos are wide grassy plains that flood in the rainy season, full of capybaras, caimans, anacondas and wading birds. The Orinoco, one of South America's longest rivers, flows through the country to a great delta. In the south-east, giant tepuis rise from the rainforest, and Angel Falls drops from one of them. In the west lies Lake Maracaibo.

People, languages and culture

Spanish is the official language, and dozens of Indigenous languages are spoken too. Most Venezuelans have mixed European, Indigenous and African roots, and most are Catholic. Arepas, round cornmeal breads stuffed with fillings, are eaten every day, and pabellón criollo, rice with shredded beef, black beans and plantain, is the national dish. At Christmas, families make hallacas, wrapped in banana leaves. Baseball is the most popular sport. Joropo music is played with a harp, a small four-stringed guitar called the cuatro and maracas.

History in a nutshell

Many Indigenous peoples lived here before Europeans arrived in 1498. Spanish explorers saw houses on stilts over the water and named the land Venezuela, meaning 'little Venice'. It became a Spanish colony. Simón Bolívar, born in Caracas in 1783, led wars of independence across northern South America; Venezuela declared independence on 5 July 1811. It was part of Gran Colombia until 1830. In the 1900s, oil was discovered and became the country's most important industry.